Ireland draws France in World Cup playoff

Ireland have drawn France in the two legged playoff to earn a place in the World Cup in South Africa.

The draw was made in Zurich for the games, which will take place on November 14 and 18. The Republic of Ireland was the first ball out of the bowl and the second ball to come out was that of 1998 World Cup winners France.

As Ireland was first to be drawn, the first leg will be in Dublin on November 14 and the return leg will be in Paris on November 18.

Former Liverpool manager and current Director of Football for the French Federation gave this reaction to AFP about the draw.

"It will be tough, but we believe we can win it especially as the second leg is in Paris," said Houiller.

"Ireland are also not too happy with the draw. It's not a very good one for either of us."

John Delaney, Chief Executive of the FAI, predicts a tight game between the two sides.

"I've spoken to the manager, Giovanni Trapattoni, he's quite relaxed about it," he said. "We don't lose games on many goals, we don't win games on many goals. I wouldn't expect that pattern to change."